


Watching and Dreaming

by PetraMysticaCLXV



Series: Hermit!Dream AU [2]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Hermitcraft RPF
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Alternate Universe, Author is a Clay | Dream Apologist (Video Blogging RPF), Fluff, Gen, Hermitcraft crossover, Hurt Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Torture, Past Abuse, Recovery, Swearing, Watcher Charles | Grian, Winged Charles | Grian, Winged Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), jellie is most awesome cat, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-17
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:09:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29994378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetraMysticaCLXV/pseuds/PetraMysticaCLXV
Summary: There's a new Watcher in town.Unfortunately, he isn't welcome in his world anymore, fortunately, he is welcomed in another one.A violet light rains down in the Dream SMP, as it vanishes their admin also disappears.Well, at least Dream isn't alone anymore, he isn't in his world either.... Is that Grain?[rework of the whole Hermit!Dream series]
Series: Hermit!Dream AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2156403
Comments: 39
Kudos: 203





	1. Purple

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the rewritten/reworked Hermit Dream AU!!!
> 
> Yay!
> 
> ANYWAYS!!!
> 
> No lines are meant to be crossed in the making of this fic
> 
> Have fun and welcome!!!

Dream blinks to an unchanging scene of his cell. The obsidian walls, the lava curtain, the shattered clock that never stopped its ticking, the lectern with a book that will never be filled, the chest filled with blank books, the cauldron filled with water and blood, and his wrecked hands slowly healing from punching the almost indestructible confinement he is in.

He let out a heavy sigh, hopefully, the people outside are at peace. If he concentrated enough he can hear Wilbur’s clanging on his cell, at least he’s not in total isolation, not covered in dripping obsidian and lava, but instead only separated by an iron door, at least someone can hear the former president, unlike him, a labeled monster of his own world is condemned to be locked alone forever. Dream swipes in the air to open his administrator window, the cracked screen hovers in front of him shining green light, intelligible strings of code, windows, and buttons. Being an inmate does not excuse him to abandon his work as this world’s admin, he lets out a sigh of relief, the code of his world is stable at least because if ever, he won’t be able to fix it inside the solitary, not when the blocks that bounded him inside prevents him to access the commands and code to do so, it was to prevent him from escaping he understands, and it is a part of the compromise. Dream closes the administrator window and lets his chained wrists down. Forever is a long time, especially when the canon lives rule cannot apply to you. Dream admits, without the access to the green screen he would have broken a long time ago, between the horrible treatment inside and the lack of good contact, if the world suddenly said that it doesn’t need him he would gladly fade away-

“Now, don’t say that,” a voice that sounded familiar yet not makes Dream turn up where it came from, the admin meets a gaze from a porcelain mask that hides its wearer's eyes a symbol of dots and angles that form a square on the white thing, a halo of purple illuminates dirty blond hair, “Not when you’ve come so far, Dream,” robes of silky violet swished despite the lack of breeze inside the solitary,

“You’re a watcher,” Dream croaks, of course, he knows of the Watchers, individuals who are said to be immortal, guardians of worlds or destroyers of it, a society that is so powerful and runs in a meritocracy, yet they find a way to keep themselves a secret to the most, some say they have ascended individuals who found a way to weave the code of the universe to their own accord, but that sounds too much like the admins of the world just in a larger scale. A watcher’s signature appearance is their purple halo, white masks, and purple robes- The watcher opens their wings- and their amethyst wings,

“You can’t be properly initiated in this small room, no?” the watcher now also summons a staff that is slightly shorter than themselves, “And according to my observation, your people here will most likely kill and spawn trap you than to let you out,” the watcher snaps the chains and pulls Dream up, Dream notes how taller he is than the watcher, as the watcher opens up a window similar to his administrator one, but unlike his window, the watcher’s light up with a soft lavender light, letters of galactic appear and disappear in a conversation, the watchers tips their toe and rocks back down,

“That solves our problem, X says you’re welcome in our world, as long as you don’t grief and steal valuable resources,” the watcher cheered,

Dream bobs his mouth open only for the watcher to giggle at it,

“Stop impersonating a fish, you’re a watcher now!”,

A vibrant purple ray of light engulfs both of them.

* * *

When the purple washes away, Dream finds himself surrounded by sandstone and sounds of water from above, he winces at the new environment, and he can feel a thick robe draped on him dimming the light that goes into his eyes that he slowly opened.

As his confidence to take the brightness arrives, Dream lets his eyes flutter open, to see a blur of red and purple,

“Welcome to Hermitcraft, I’m supposed to introduce myself as Xelqua earlier, but I hate using the name,” Xelqua walked away from Dream, a button pushed and something popping was heard ahead, Dream scrunches up his memory to remember this familiar person in front of him he is sure this man’s name really isn’t “Xelqua”,

“Who are you?” Dream asks, and Grian goes back to where Dream is standing, handing the newly recruited watcher a spare armor,

The blond smiling wickedly at him, "Grian, the one who beat you up in the Championships' Survival Games,",

Grian panics as he saw Dream started to cry. For Dream he was just happy to see someone that isn't the Warden, the watcher hugged the other man to console him,

"I don't really know what is happening-" Dream choked on a sob, "But- thank you, please don't beat me up,",

"I won't, you're safe here now,".

* * *

Back in Dream SMP, the alarms of Pandora’s Vault blares. A harried warden jogs along the labyrinthian corridors of the prison, behind the creeper masked warden is a demon and a cat hybrid,

“Ant, make sure Wilbur stays in his cell, Bad, come with me,” Warden Sam hollers over the bells and pings from their communicators, the cat separated from them as they met an intersection, and soon Bad and Sam arrives at the control room of the solitary cell. The warden orders his subordinate to take a pearl to the now opened lava curtain, the demon pops to the cell. Veins of purple spreading from the drops of the crying obsidian to the otherwise neat cell, if you call a bloodied cauldron clean. The demon inspects the chest as nothing in the open would give him any clue of what could have happened to their incarcerated admin. Bad turns to where Sam be and shakes his head, wherever their admin is they might never know.


	2. Pitch

Dream shuddered inside Grian’s embrace, the red watcher can almost feel the lithe figure that is covered by his enormous violet robes, it wasn’t surprising as the new recruit is starved inside the prison with only potatoes for every meal, Grian huffed about it mentally while he was concealing himself inside Dream’s server, potatoes can be poisonous when it is eaten constantly and only having those starchy root crops are never healthy. The shorter hermit drew circles on the sobbing person’s back. No matter how “evil” Dream’s act in his server, no one should suffer that. The prison had no furniture for comfort even if there are many ways to provide surfaces for ease without endangering escape possibilities, the total solitary- not really if you count the visits the warden makes just to hit Dream because the man’s victim woke up from a nightmare, the lack of trial before actually condemning- there were so many reasons that could have been listed but if Grian continues to enumerate it he fears that his own nightmares will not just be bunnies and murderous partners.

Grian guided his new charge to the hyperlink in the Nether, it wasn’t his first time to have a new watcher assigned to him for training, but this sure is still a first time to have the training in his own homeworld, than of the greenhorn, the proper way is to have the young watcher have their classes in their own world’s End where they are more acquainted and adept to be, but with the Dream SMP’s own End closed, and Overworld being full of people crying out for blood, that’s just asking for trouble. It took five paces before the hermit noticed that Dream stood frozen on the main portal’s giant birdcage,

“N-no,” wide-eyed Dream stares at Grian, the trembling stronger, only seeing the haunting amethyst dripping from the bowels of the tunnel in front of him, “Y-you said I’m safe-!” he cried dropping the cape before turning around, in his haste he also tripped on the same cape, scraping his knee on the warped wood flooring, a touch lands on his arm,

“Get away from me!” in Dream’s eyes, there’s an impostor in front of his eyes, pretending to help him, giving him false hope, the cell in Pandora is lonely and misery, he will not suffer inside those suffocating walls again, a beam of light swallows him again as another howl of objection scraped his throat, and the darkness embraced him as he lost consciousness from fatigue.

The hermit watcher heaved as he carried the too-light Dream who’s also out cold, a tear dripping from both one of their eyes. Grian mentally too numb to let himself shatter at the moment, chasing away the impending memories, reminded by his past. The winged hermit tucks the new disciple on the bed after patching up the wounded knee in his starter base, hoping when Dream wakes up he sees the rustic wooden beams instead of the haunting obsidian.

Grian finally lets himself curse when he is sure out of earshot, “Fuck!” the cuss tasted so foreign on his tongue, been a long time since he used the word, the violet wings lashed fury on the nearby jungle trees, noting that he might strangle either the higher-ups in the True End or, the Warden of the Pandora’s Vault. At first, when he arrived, Grian admittedly was reluctant to accept and continue with the assignment the True End gave him, hearing stories about the admin who is locked inside the harsh and unmerciful prison, but slowly he gathers information and starts to sort it out.

One is the fact that the admin has killed and revived one of the world’s residents, and after that revived more to ensue chaos, this one Grian knew when he was first given the task, noting it as one of the achievements that qualified Dream to become a watcher. Killing is a normal crime or practice done, but with a respawn system as precarious as of the Dream SMP’s it is quite an offense, but the fact that the admin is able to undo it is what the watchers counted. Another one is how the admin was able to help expel the corruption that crawled into their world. And lastly, the watchers are convinced that the admin’s prowess in fighting will help them greatly, adding the magic that the watchers possess will make Dream a force to be reckoned with. Still, Grian was icky with the thought of having Dream after eavesdropping on one of Tommy’s sessions with a sheep hybrid called Captain Puffy. The young man was said to have been abused and manipulated by Dream and his adopted older brother, Wilbur. And Grian have a soft spot for the abused, then back in the Pandora he witnesses how the warden would visit the solitary cell and exit with a bloodied pickaxe, leaving a shattered body of an admin wary of the creeper-styled gas mask before opening his administrator window, letting the lime-tinted light calm his nerves, as if the almost incorrigible to the most writing of mixed Galactic and End codes bring the comfort that may as well equal to that of a warm blanket.

The watcher does what he would not regularly do, entering someone’s memories and mind. Telepathy is a fickle thing to use, and invading a mind might cause more harm to the one who was being applied with. But still, Grian does it and finds the memories first, confirming how Tommy is hurt, then the motivation.

For the admin, it was the duty, as he holds the code of this world with his hands, control is what an admin usually aims for his server, being the one who weaves the code for its making and stability, admin is cautious at best, paranoid at worst when it comes to their worlds.

Dream is no different, the wars that tore his server also do tear him around the edges, he could have banned Tommy from the world as most admins would do, but the young man has already rooted in the server and does not have any other worlds to move. Grian sees the iron grip that Dream wanted to grasp for his world to keep it together, and in the end, he let himself be labeled as the tyrant and monster of the world to unite them all while sacrificing fragments of his sanity from his now torn mind.

Grian grimaced, there are so many other ways to get through the admin’s wish, but alas, that is what happened instead. After his breakout in the jungle, the watcher aimed for his mini-kitchen inside the hobbit hole, humming to himself as he starts the fire in the furnace, for when Dream wakes up and nice and tasty broth can fill their stomachs.


	3. Wood

Wisps from a fresh stew brings the new watcher to consciousness. Rays of light tear through his jaded eyes and Dream pulls up his blanket to block the harsh brightness. Immediately the light dims with the sounds of something sliding on metal.

“Try to eat,”, Dream immediately recognizes the voice, remembers the encounter that started within obsidian walls, he peeks over his covers, expecting to be back inside his cell, only for his vision to meet wooden planks of oak and spruce, at the distance he can hear parrots tweeting and the rush of a water source. Dream spots the food beside him, sweet scent tempting him, now he turns to the direction where the voice came from and sees a man with a red sweater and large amethyst wings,

“After you eat, I’ll teach you the Watcher’s interface,”, Dream grabs the bowl, its warmth comfortable on his palm, being used to starve inside he is apprehensive of taking in any dishes, but he is more apprehensive of the man in front of him. Dream only starts to eat when the other man left, dragging his violet wings after receiving a ping from his communicator. The soup is clear, with little chunks of whatever in it, it was easy to consume, and soon the bowl is halved of its contents.

Two pairs of wings land on the entrance of Grian’s hobbit hole, one pair is a pristine duo of violet feathers, while the other is a grey torn leather wings, wings of a Vex. A cat appeared beside in between the two of them, fur of grey and starling emeralds for eyes, the man with leathery wings pick-up the feline to his chest the man fondly calls his cat “Jellie”, and Grian opens the door.

The cat jumps off his human as soon as they entered, going over to the cot where the new person is huddled on. “ _Mrow,”_ the cat meows, even jumping onto the bed and rubbing its head on a bare arm,

“Oh! Jellie likes you,” leather wings cheered, “That just means you’re a good person! I’m Scar,” and Scar smiles ear to ear,

“...Dream,” his fingers run over behind the cat’s ear, Jellie indulging on the man’s touch, Grian places a heap of clothing beside Dream a little over Jellie who now even climbed on his lap purring under the grazes and gentle scratching,

“You can change over the space behind there or upstairs,” Grian points where the water sources are then upwards, “And you can wash in the lake outside,” pointing at the door, Dream nods gingerly with his hand still content touching the cat’s fur, Grian takes the bowl keeping silent and goes somewhere within the hobbit hole Scar tagging along with his fellow winged hermit.

Jellie sneezes on Dream’s sleeve, earning a light chuckle from the young man. The Pandora feels like a long nightmare, being inside another place and then meeting people he did not know nor familiar with, still at the same time being around this difference feels like a dream too, the two is nothing like the Warden, nor Quackity, a dark metaphorical thread ties Dream’s heart tightly, the center of his chest aching, he struggles to remember the name of the one that is wearing red earlier, but he notes how he is also the one who suddenly appeared in his cell like a hazy dream. The cat jumps off of him then the bed, tail whipping left and right, their meow is raspy but loud, Jellie turns to the only human that they see, then walks to the door, scratching on the wood, then sneezing again.

“You want me to take a bath?” Dream sighs, he is answered with another meow, an odd note to remember about this new world the watcher brought him to. With a grunt Dream manages to stand up from the cot while also grabbing the set of a tee and shorts with a thick towel, the cat seemed to silently judge him with their fluffy tail waving around, the young man continues despite the swaying and near kisses with the wooden floor below. Dream swings the doors open, his eyes meeting a large green crystal supported by decaying beams of stone, a structure that seems to form a face, and a nether portal surrounded by black sand looming behind the massive gem. His ears find the tweeting parrots interesting and his eyes find a large snail with a diamond beard and a shell that seemed to have been fashioned to become a tiny home, beside it a village infested with greenery and mushrooms hanging bridges seemed to connect every high point over it. Dream finds himself just over the edge of the lake, with a toe the waters are cool to touch, slowly he dips himself shivering at the temperature and adjusts to it later. He pickups a good scratchy flat stone and starts to scrub the grime of his skin, careful around the scabs that are yet to heal properly.

* * *

Scar raises his brow to his friend, head tilting in a curious manner, both of them surrounded by the rocks and vines of Grian’s secret cove.

“So, what do you think?” Grian asks,

“He sounds nice, Jellie liked him,” Scar answers, “You know how much I trust my cat,”,

“You’re not gonna ask why I invited a complete stranger to the world?”,

“Well, you did say in the meeting that this is only temporary, and he really does seem nice,” the Vex raises his hand waving it up and down, “And also, he looked very young, too young, well you look younger, but I know you’re older than you let on, most of us are,”,

“So… this is okay with you?”,

Scar nods, “He’s a cat person, I approve,” the vex hums, “Now, where do you keep my doors here, Grian, I can feel a bit of my magic lying behind these rocks,”,

Grian chuckles, “You know I’m not gonna tell,”, Scar frowns then sighs, no point in pushing a stubborn.

They enter back to the hobbit hole with Dream sitting on the bed but now covered with a violet hooded robe, a clear white porcelain mask covering his facial features, his thinness hidden by the thick clothing,

Grian gives a nod, “I suppose we gotta have the ceremony now, so I can start teaching you, give me a sec,” and the watcher goes upstairs and returns with an outfit complimenting Dream’s, the very same one when they left the Pandora and the SMP, the feathered hermit offers a hand,

“Let’s,”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just like ending this latest chapters with "let's" huh lmao
> 
> please give comments and kudos

**Author's Note:**

> This was an impromptu sudden on a whim change, but also because I can't proceed with the other version of the au since I don't know how to now lol. just imagine Dream getting back to pandora there, then maybe rescued by the hermits and maybe fix the egg problem, it sure still is a problem in the server. maybe I will still go with that plot, maybe not, but that's for the future, I still have coconut to make into a bonsai I dunno why, but it's a project required in school that I am so tempted to not pass.
> 
> It is also quite inspired by Skycastle's comment in the last series. But yes i did plan at some point that I will have one of the hermits back then to kidnap Dream from the pandora its just idk what happened with my brain that it took s sharp turn to make another type of au.... You know maybe later, I will put this in a separated au just because to make it i bit more organized or something mvlsmncksncns
> 
> Be sure to be nice in the comments, I am watching ;D


End file.
